Bill Koch

dil'ettan'te A lover of the fine arts; esp., one who follows an art or a branch of knowledge desultorily or superficially, or as a pastime. Syn. See AMATEUR --Webster's Collegiate Dictionary Bill Koch would try on that definition and say it doesn't fit. Anyone who spends $30 million isn't just dabbling in the America's Cup.

Thirty years ago, when Bill Koch was 5, he trailed his grandfather to tracks all over California to see a 2-year-old gelding called Telly's Pop run. Young Koch was here in 1975 when Telly's Pop, owned by actor Telly Savalas and movie producer Howard W. Koch, won the Del Mar Futurity. "Has it been that long?" Bill Koch said. "Well, I'm 35, so I guess it has been."

Bill Koch, after all those years of frustration, is on the brink of fulfilling a lifelong dream. Wrong. Should America 3 wrap up the America's Cup and deliver it to the San Diego Yacht Club Saturday afternoon, Koch will be fulfilling a dream of, oh, maybe eight years. That's how long he has been sailing, at least seriously. Eight years? That pales in comparison with how many years Jerry Brown has dreamed of being president. Maybe Moonbeam should have taken a shining in a different direction.

Bill Koch earned the only medal ever won by a U.S. athlete in Nordic skiing at the 1976 Winter Games in Innsbruck. A bearded 20-year-old from Vermont, Koch won the silver medal in the 30-kilometer cross-country race, finishing just 28 seconds behind Sergei Savelyev of the Soviet Union. And according to news reports, there was not a single American fan or journalist in attendance. Koch is still rather anonymous--and hard to find. The search for Koch starts with the U.S.

dil'ettan'te A lover of the fine arts; esp., one who follows an art or a branch of knowledge desultorily or superficially, or as a pastime. Syn. See AMATEUR --Webster's Bill Koch would try on that definition and say it doesn't fit. Anyone who spends $30 million isn't just dabbling in the America's Cup. That's Koch's personal share of his America 3 syndicate's $45-million commitment to defeat a man--Dennis Conner--who had won and lost the Cup before Koch ever learned to sail.

Talk about a Puritan image problem. First Demi Moore does Hester Prynne. Then Catherine de Castelbajac--a former Ford model and Californian who graduated from Foothill High School in Santa Ana--portrays herself in a courtroom as an "X-rated Protestant princess." "My poor nerve endings are already hungry," De Castelbajac told Bill Koch--a multimillionaire yachtsman who gained fame for his 1992 America's Cup victory--in one of a series of steamy letters and faxes read to jurors. "You are creating such a wanton woman."

Koch Industries, the mammoth Wichita, Kan.-based oil and gas conglomerate, defrauded the U.S. government by mismeasuring oil purchases on federal and American Indian lands, a federal jury decided Thursday. Koch, one of the largest private companies in the United States, was ordered to pay actual damages to the government of $553,504 for making 24,587 false claims that allowed Koch to pay less than it should have for oil, the jury said.

Cross-country skier Bill Koch, a silver medalist in the 1976 Games, was elected by his teammates to carry the flag and lead the U.S. team at today's opening ceremony. Koch said it was an honor he had hoped for, but hadn't expected. "It really shocked me," he said. "I pretty much figured that they'd probably choose a more recent Olympian. I was shocked but very pleased and extremely honored to have my peers choose me. That's like the ultimate honor."

Bill Koch, head of the America3 defense syndicate, said he will have a fourth sloop built for the America's Cup defender trials. America3 will enter two yachts in each round of the trials, which begin Tuesday off San Diego. Jayhawk and Defiant, launched last year, will be used in the first series of round-robin races. A third boat is expected to arrive this month and will be used in the second round-robin. The fourth boat is expected in March, in time for the fourth round.

Koch Industries, the mammoth Wichita, Kan.-based oil and gas conglomerate, defrauded the U.S. government by mismeasuring oil purchases on federal and American Indian lands, a federal jury decided Thursday. Koch, one of the largest private companies in the United States, was ordered to pay actual damages to the government of $553,504 for making 24,587 false claims that allowed Koch to pay less than it should have for oil, the jury said.

Talk about a Puritan image problem. First Demi Moore does Hester Prynne. Then Catherine de Castelbajac--a former Ford model and Californian who graduated from Foothill High School in Santa Ana--portrays herself in a courtroom as an "X-rated Protestant princess." "My poor nerve endings are already hungry," De Castelbajac told Bill Koch--a multimillionaire yachtsman who gained fame for his 1992 America's Cup victory--in one of a series of steamy letters and faxes read to jurors. "You are creating such a wanton woman."

They were late getting home, so to speak, and every daughter who has a strict father knew what to expect. "He came down on us pretty hard," Leslie Egnot said. But if you're going to have a patron, why not have one worth about two-thirds of a billion dollars? It just needs to be understood that his patience has a limit. When you have a 3-12 record, does he give you the keys to a new boat?

Merritt Carey, who has sailed the world, came running when she heard that the first-ever all-women's team was being assembled for the America's Cup. "It doesn't get any better than this if you're looking for big boats and around-the-can (buoy) sailing," said the 25-year-old Maine native. Other world-class races--the Caribbean Gold Cup, the Transpacific, the Whitbread Round-the-World Race--are challenging and high profile, but in the world of big-time sailing, the America's Cup is the Big Show.

Bill Koch, who spent $60 million to shake up the staid yachting world with his 1992 America's Cup victory, plans a new twist for his title defense in San Diego next year: the first all-women team in the 142-year history of the race. Koch said the women don't need to be experienced sailors. He said he wants good athletes with the right attitude who can be trained to handle a boat. Lynne J. Shore is one who will make an effort. If she is chosen, it will bring another little twist to the team.

Bill Koch has some ideas about how to improve the America's Cup. Oops! Say those last two words and everybody nods off. That's the problem. Few in this country spend much time thinking about it, but Koch has. Bright man. Three degrees from MIT. Great art collection. When Koch talks, people should listen. Trouble is, Koch is a far better scientist--even a better sailor--than he is a salesman.

Cube elation. The basin off the San Diego Yacht Club is aswirl, fizzing like an Alka-Seltzer, as the true-blue crew of America 3goes winning-dipping in the water, playful as dolphins, the wetter the better. On a sunny day in May during America's 500th anniversary party, the city of San Diego has turned itself into one big wet T-shirt contest. Horns are tooting and hoses are spewing.

Picture an America's Cup with boats not only from San Diego but Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Chicago and other American cities, all competing to play host to the next defense. That's a big part of the picture Bill Koch tried to draw Wednesday night for members of the San Diego Yacht Club. Koch's America 3 team retained the Cup for San Diego last year, and that's the first thing he would like to change--the part about for San Diego.

Bill Koch has been reveling in his press clippings in the two months since he successfully defended the America's Cup. "It's fun to reflect back on all the things (sportswriters) wrote about how I didn't have a chance," Koch said from Cape Cod.